Memories are a weird thing when you break them down. You can’t plan them out in advance and they come with No Guarantees.

I don’t know why some of them are always reoccurring.

I was not able to have a dog when I was young. My dad was allergic to them. But I think having a dog in the house was something neither of my parents would have the desire or tolerance for. And I do not have a living scenario that allows a dog.

Growing up my neighbor’s raised Siberian Huskies. There first one was named Nika. And she had a personality. As a young kid, I would feed her dog biscuits through the fence. She always seem to be there waiting for one. About two years later there was Zar. So there was now two dogs waiting at the fence. Zar, I do not think actually ate the dog biscuits. I believe he had the ability though to inhale them. Nika then started her new routine. She would grab the biscuit and do a few laps around the yard. She would then lay under the tree and slowly eat the biscuit. It is the only time I have ever seen a dog take from 10-20 minutes to eat a dog biscuit.

Nika also had another habit or better yet trick. She loved to be petted. She would sit right next to you and nudge. You start petting her on her head. She would start slowly moving her front paws out in front of her. She would slowly go down to the ground as you kept petting her. As soon as her stomach area hit the ground she would immediately rollover and flailing her paws until she got her belly rubs.

I have been doing some of a Renaissance when it comes to my personal music listening. Those exact details is for another posting. But the following song is one that does not fit into what I have been listening to for the most part lately. I heard it on podcast but I can’t remember the particular one. But I think a person should be open to listening to music that catches one “off guard”. In doing so there is a chance you may find a new thought.

And this is a song that I had not heard since it was released in the early 90’s.

Personally, maybe the story when it comes to certain relationships has not ended. But there is no denying that things have change. Some of the chapters have closed. And what is to come from here out when it comes to those relations? I have no idea. Either way.

The worse part, is we are in a Presidential Election Cycle. Too many people think that the Election of one candidate will improve the Narrative of their lives. And if the other candidate is the choice then it will destroy that same narrative. But thinking either way is really disconnecting from yourself.

Living on the border (Buffalo, NY) with Canada has always meant Canadian radio stations can always be tuned into. Canada also has a rule that a certain percentage of the music played on those stations must be by Canadian artists. So many of those bands developed “Cult-like” status here and many of them would play here often.

One of the biggest bands from Canada (besides Rush) to play here is The Tragically Hip. They can play to crowds to roughly of 15k here. And I saw them once at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC where the Sold Out crowd of less than 500. I could never figure out how their music never found its place outside of the Northeast area of the US.

I started to hear them around 1990-1991 when their Fully Completely album was released. And would see them for the first time at the Sold Out arena on the tour supporting The Day for Night album. They had that “Magic” when it came to the performance. One of the Best Live bands to see. No fancy stage show. Just the music. They started the show and just played the set. No Time Out Breaks. One song went into right into the next. And before you realized 90+ minutes had passed.

The band also has that Lead Singer who is the Perfect Front Man. Gord Downie. He has the voice but he also interjects these Stream of Consciousness lyrics into the songs. It is hard to describe. Because it is something that Should Be Experienced.

And now that Experience seems to be coming to an end. It was announced today that Gord has terminal brain cancer. And soon the band will be announcing the next album and tour. It appears that the 30+ years of music is coming to its end. Inevitable as it. It comes Unexpected. And yet I wish him nothing but Bravery.

I am guessing they will make an appearance in Buffalo on tour. But the odds of me being able to get a hold of a ticket are slim at best.

But I have the albums and I have the memories. And instead of looking at what is about to lost. I rather hold on and enjoy what I have had. And that goes beyond just the music here.

Everything has its Era.

There is only one Official Live Album. Live Between Us. Released in 1997 is the most underrated Live Album I have ever heard. It is a recording of One Show and is not re-edited for release. It is as close you can come to Experiencing them live without being present.

Pick it up or download if you can.

Close your eyes.

And Listen.

This is NOT on the album but from time to time the Canadian stations will play this Bootleg.

And by the way Grim Reaper. Can you stop eyeing up our Musical Icons for a bit? How about the ones you are missing? Maybe this a bit too much. I am not wishing an early death on them. But could you arrange for them to have a long bout of laryngitis? Or better yet. Break their fingers. (They will heal) So they cannot make any Jackass Comments on Twitter.

It has been too long since I posted anything here. And I am going to spare the details of why that happened.

I just need to get back into it. But where to start was the problem. So I finally decided to start here.

I have been making a lot of notes on the various things that I have been reading, watching or experiencing.

Part of what I want to do here is to point out the things that I notice. I need to make note of them and pass them along.

They are just tangents that may lead to something.

I have started using the Evernote app to outline writing projects. It was also available for the Kindle which made it convenient to use. But I will have to update my phone so I can also have the app available there. However, at the moment doing that is a low priority.

Does anyone else use Evernote? If so do you have a recommendation on a tutorial book or videos to help me learn how to maximize my experience with it?

I have been avoiding watching this season of The Game of Thrones. The series has caught up with the timeline of the book series. I was a fan of the books first and I a bit torn because the TV series gets to set its own without being encumbered by the books. But every day, I have to avoid postings about the episodes. I am not sure what to do with this. The book author pays no heed to deadlines and it could be years before his version is available. So it is kind of odd to be having this debate between the TV version and the book version that has not been published. And I will not get into the last season of The Walking Dead that is becoming encumbered by the book series it is based on. And I am not going to get into the letdown of the season finale. The one that was promised to be “brutal and heartbreaking” and yet was not shown. So I have until October to temper down my expectation of who got the bat in the head.

Speaking a binges. I need to start with Better Call Saul Season 2. I recommendchecking out Fargo Season 1. I am interesting in watching Mr. Robot and Orphan Black. Recommendations?

And speaking of the ego. I am looking forward to reading the upcoming book Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. He talked about it on the Brian Koppleman’s podcast. I also want to say I have found Brian Koppleman’s podcast to be insightful. He talks to various people about their process. And the most useful is when they talk about what the failures and mistakes they experienced taught them.

Also been having a bit of a High Fidelity moment when it comes to my music listening. And here are three songs from the playlist.

Sometimes you can hear a song that you are familiar with and yet one day the lyrics just hit that nerve.

Sometimes you just want a moment.

Finally, I was watching an episode of the Walking Dead. It is odd watching this show on syndicated TV because it has weird edits for content. This song was from Episode 12 from Season 4 titled “Still”. In this episode, it is just Beth and Daryl on their own. The Governor has killed Beth’s father. And his crew has destroyed the prison where they were living. They are separated from the others and at this point think they may be the only ones at this time. It is a story about accepting a new reality, remembering the old and letting go.

Sometimes, no matter how hard it comes. Catharsis can be a good thing.

There are quite a few things that I am still trying to work out. Anger, frustration and just plain exhaustion are never useful when it comes to get any creative efforts done with any satisfaction.

There are times when you just have to take a pause. But life goes on regardless of the conditions you are in.

Sometimes, you try to keep different parts of your life separate from each other. Sometimes it works. And sometimes it does not.

The picture here is of the Ropes Course, that I have been part of for about 28 years now. I am not going to mention the name of the organization here. The reason is that I try to keep what do here and what I have to do on the course separate.

As for the Ropes Course I have acquired “knowledge” over the years. I would never call myself the be all and end all “expert”. I do not believe they truly exist. And I try to avoid any long term contact with anyone claiming to be one. The reason is every time I run the course I learn something new or have to deal with a situation I never encountered before. There is process on the course. And that process need to be run over and over again while making adjustments to conditions on hand at the moment.

The Ropes Course has a series of events that designed to help people with team building, problem solving, trust, planning, decision-making, communication, leadership and self-esteem. The course has had its “ups and downs” over the years. The problem is that this is an “experience’ and it is not “required” for advancement. We live in a society at the moment that is more fixed on checking off a box. Plus, people do not want to risk having an experience without a guarantee on the outcome. All I can do on the course is set the “Parameters” the actual “Experience” is what the person is willing to do with it in that moment. I also think the more memorable experiences happen when they come without a preconceived notion. Or one that was required beforehand.

I only am mentioning this because a similar thing happened (and still is) with my writing.

Steven Pressfield’s idea of Resistance as he described in his book The War of Art is dead on accurate. I can testify to that. But would anyone listen?

It has been hard to get any real face to face feedback on what I write. I do not like talking to people who stare at floors. And two word answers are not very useful, And certainly not very engaging. But it is what is. Being acknowledged and to be in some validated is the Mirage on the Edge of Cyberspace. I have to move towards it but getting there may not happen. Using WebStats is not the best Metric either. Social media can be very (for the lack of a better term) Temperamental border lining on Apathetic. It just the most available promotion tool at this time on the Internet.

Ben’s essay The Kind of Writer You Want to Be started me thinking. And where to begin. So I am starting with the Blog. I like when I get ideas that are in my head out. I have Stream of Conscience going when I write many of them. I like getting ideas out and how they may be related to other ones. Basically, it is more about where I find myself in that moment. I know I am not for everyone. Believe me. But the blog is first for myself to get those ideas out. And see where they may go. But I hope that if someone reads the post they may find something for themselves in it. Or would be to add something I may not have considered. The blog is where I find myself at that Present Moment

As for long term writing goals, I am going to follow the advice of Derek Sivers Keep Your Goals to Yourself. But I will say, it involves fictional writing.

To borrow an idea from baseball.

You can have what is considered to be a successful career by being a .250 hitter. Who is also .750 comes to Swing and A Miss.

As I have to remind myself on the course start with the process and keep working it. Stop over thinking the end Product. Be present in the moment.

Also I need to remember to keep an eye and an ear out for things that may help along the way. And pass them along.

Finally, give credit when it’s due.

#OurCreativeBoat is courtesy of Mentorless.com. There are a lot of articles there I have bookmarked for later reading. The problem is I do not have Internet access at work due to company policy. And Windows 10 does not save articles for off line reading. Does anyone have a solution for this problem?